Deep in the woods on the other side of the lake, on a remote path known almost exclusively by our campers, rests the Manning plaque on a solid stone foundation. The honorarium was dedicated in 1924 to the memory of Mr. Robert L. Manning:

It used to be so easy. Mom was home, and kids wanted to play outside, as we only had seven channels on the television (and no central air). Boy, how times have changed. Technological advances have profoundly affected life, as we know it, including how we raise our children.

I have three daughters, all under the age of seven. So this time of year in our house is filled with conversations about presents, gifts, and the magic of the holidays. As a family, we search for the Elf on the Shelf each day and, when the big day comes, we hope we are lucky enough to be included on Santa’s “nice list.” But because my children are being raised by two camp directors, who have spent the majority of their adult lives at camp, they know there will be nightly debriefings about the magic, about the presents, and about the spirit of giving.

As camp professionals, we teach giving. How we do it may vary from program to program, but the outcome is the same: children leave camp with a greater sense of how to offer their assistance to others, and make a difference in the world.

My camp wasn’t in the middle of nowhere, out in the woods. Rather, it was in the city, in the middle of an urban neighborhood, row houses and all. Many of the children my camp hosted were poor, inner-city types, whose parents couldn’t afford an overnight camp. It was, like many other camps, a way to keep them off the streets and out of trouble. Considering the neighborhood we were stationed in, I’d venture to say that the need was more urgent than most. I had attended the camp years prior, and was emotionally invested in it.

We all hear many references to the educational opportunity “out-of-school time” represents for children. You know, that time between 3pm and 10pm, weekends, holidays, and the whale of them all, summer — it adds up. And in this time real change can occur when working with our children’s education.

As someone who lived on the frontlines of camp for 15 years, I have had the last year to look back and carefully reflect on what keeps me in the camp profession (working for ACA) and what moves me about the camp experience.